Government Internet Shutdowns Cost $19.7B in 2025 1/9/26, 2:49 PM events or conflicts. In 2025, by contrast, governments increasingly turned to pre-emptive disruptions, citing security concerns even in the absence of protests, elections, exams, or other traditional triggers. This marks a clear escalation in digital authoritarianism. Internet restrictions are now being imposed on minimal or speculative grounds, disrupting everyday connectivity and steadily eroding digital normalcy. Russia’s extensive shutdowns in 2025 were the single largest driver of this shift, with authorities framing these measures as precautionary responses to evolving threats. However, the scale, duration, and consistency of the disruptions point to a broader strategy of consolidating information control, expanding surveillance, and making circumvention progressively more difficult for ordinary users. Russia wasn’t an outlier. At least 12 other countries, including Venezuela, India, Iraq, and Albania, also deployed information-control shutdowns in 2025, underscoring a wider global move toward pre-emptive internet restrictions. Most Blocked Social Media Platforms in 2025 This table shows the total time individual social media platforms were blocked in 2025, ranked from most to least hours. Note: The total hours below exceed the “Social media blocks” figure in the Key Findings because multiple platforms are often restricted simultaneously. The table also shows how many separate shutdowns affected each platform. https://www.top10vpn.com/research/cost-of-internet-shutdowns/ Page 13 of 33